Two Me

Mel Chin’s Two Me invited the public to pose as living monuments in the courtyard of City Hall. Visitors ascended fully accessible ramps to one of two identical seven-foot-tall pedestals, inscribed simply with the word “Me.” Individually, each visitor attained monumental status when reaching the top. Together, across both platforms, visitors created a “We,” as in “We the People.” Chin’s artwork balanced the longing for individualism with the foundational spirit of coexistence embedded within American culture. Chin modeled these pedestals directly after John Wanamaker’s Citizen statue on the west side of City Hall, and invited the two visitors to greet each other back at ground level and further explore their collectivity.

Collaborators and Fabricators: Barron Brown; Mason Darling; Severn Eaton; Zhuoer (Audrey) Liu; Helen K. Nagge; MichaleAngelo Rodriguez; Greg Skelton of American Access, Inc.; Angelo Tartaglini of Angelo’s Marble and Granite, Inc.; and Amanda Wiles

Major support for Monument Lab projects staged in Philadelphia’s five squares provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage. An expanded artist roster and projects at additional neighborhood sites made possible by the William Penn Foundation. Lead corporate support provided by Bank of America. Generous additional support provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Location Note: Work is no longer on view at this location.